


To Meet His Maker

by MsFaust



Series: Inky Tales [144]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Dad Henry, Gen, Good AU, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 11:01:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14975771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFaust/pseuds/MsFaust
Summary: After Joey's death, Henry receives custody of his boss's creations, and a reason to keep going.





	To Meet His Maker

The house Henry lived in seemed so much bigger now that he was alone. Linda's funeral had been almost a week ago, and both his kids had gone home to their families. His friends from his Sillyvision days were all doing well, for which he was glad, but not even having them around could drive away the feeling of being all alone.

Briefly, he looked over at the photo on the table next to the couch. It showed the group at a bar, the night Sammy and Susie got engaged. They all looked so happy, so unaware that tragedy would strike when Linda was diagnosed with cancer a month later.

Part of him wondered, as he had for the past two weeks, whether he would be at the wedding or if there would their group would drop from ten members to nine.

The doorbell rang, startling him out of his thoughts. He doubted it was any of the others, since they all had their own things to do. Frowning in confusion, he got up and went to the door. Outside, a formally dressed young man stood, accompanied by three very unexpected faces--Bendy the Dancing Demon, Boris the Wolf, and Alice Angel.

"Henry Walters?"

"...Yes?" Henry replied, still waiting for his brain to catch up with his eyes.

"My name's Geoffrey Wallace," the man said. "You used to work for Joey Drew, correct?"

Henry nodded. "Forgive me, but what exactly is happening here?"

"Mr. Drew died a few days ago, and on his deathbed, he requested that you receive custody of, ah, these three."

(BATIM)

Henry did his best to make the three feel at home, never hesitating to ask them about their needs, and trying to get to know them better. Boris and Alice quickly warmed up to him, but Bendy rarely interacted with his new guardian. Obviously, he was taking the loss of Joey the hardest, and had a hard time trusting Henry, in spite of his fellow Toons' assurances.

"Bendy?" Henry knocked on the door, a plate in one hand. "I brought dinner up for you."

"Go away," Bendy's voice came from the other side. "I'm not hungry."

"Come on, buddy," the man pleaded, opening the door with his free hand. "You gotta eat."

"I said I'm not hungry!" snarled Bendy. Upon seeing Henry's worried expression, he relented.

"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to snap at ya. It's just..."

"You miss Joey." Henry set the plate down on the nightstand, taking a seat beside the demon on the bed. "Boris and Alice do too."

Gently, he put a hand on Bendy's shoulder. "Joey and I were friends for a long time before the studio. We may have drifted somewhat after the studio closed down, but we did still try and keep in contact."

Bendy looked down at the floor. "He said you helped create me, and that's why he wanted me an' Boris an' Alice to live with you. But I don't really know that much about you."

"That's what I figured," Henry said with a nod. "Let me ask you, though--how are we supposed to get to know each other if only one of us tries?"

Bendy was silent for a moment, then he slowly smiled.

"Heh, guess you're right."

(BATIM)

Once the three had fully settled in, Henry decided it was time to let them meet the rest of the former staff. Wally was the first, having come over on behalf of the others to make sure Henry was all right, and he'd quickly taken a liking to Boris--not surprising, in all honesty. Since Sammy and Susie were on their honeymoon, their first meeting took place through Skype. As expected, Susie was delighted to see Alice, and promised to come over the first chance she got. The rest followed, one by one.

Joey's funeral was a short time later, and everyone attended. Tears were shed, especially by Bendy--despite being the first of the three Toons to be created, he was emotionally the youngest. As Henry comforted Bendy, he couldn't help but feel there was a kind of irony--in dying, Joey had found a way to give the animator a reason to keep living.


End file.
